Fabulous Refab

It had been bothering me for a while that the stained glass windows on this house could only be seen from the outside. The previous owners wanted to put a circular curtain rod in, and they decided to cover the windows with sheetrock, and bring the windows down. Terrible. I couldn't quite figure out whether the windows were intact on the side that was inside the house, but I had to try. Hey, you never know.

Unfortunately, by knocking down the wall, I created two new jobs for myself. One, I had to strip the wood mouldings and two, I had to rebuild the mouldings that were missing. I kept thinking, How the hell would I go about doing this? The easiest thing to do would have been to replace the original mouldings with stuff from Home Depot. But I decided to go to Dykes Lumber and refabricate the missing mouldings. Since lumber yards no longer make these mouldings, we had to replicate them as best as possible using 3 or 4 different mouldings.
The finished product? Priceless.

Sterling Street Stoop Sale: Saturday July 19th

The Sterling Street-100 Block Association is having a multiple home stoop sale this Saturday, July 19th from 10AM to 3PM.

The stoop sale will be on Sterling Street between Bedford and Rogers Avenues in Prospect-Lefferts Garden. Proceeds will go towards funding their first annual block party.

Visit their stoop sale and see what treasures you may find. Furniture, Clothing, books, bric-a-bracs, etc. Hope you all can make it.

Please click here or on picture to view flyer.

New Condos Come to PLG

Formerly an abandoned building, 411 Rogers Avenue in Prospect-Lefferts Garden has been turned into a six-unit condo building. When I spoke to Alyssa Morris, a Corcoran agent, she said that only three of the six units were available for showing.

For $375, 000 (common charge: $269), you can get Unit 2, a two bedroom, one bathroom duplex with access to your half of the manicured private garden. Unit 4, a two bedroom, is going for $350,000 (common charge: $227). Unit 6, a 2 bedroom, is going for $365,000 (common charge: $269) and includes access to the roof deck.

According to Corcoran's website, "There are six new residential homes set up as duplexes with private gardens for entertaining and outdoor leisure, as well as 2-bedroom floor-through apartments-- some with private roof decks for those ring-side firework views."

When I visited 411 Rogers Avenue last weekend, I saw two duplex apartments that share the backyard. The first level of the duplexes is in the cellar, which is small and kind of cramped. The other four apartments are relaid single units. Also, don't get your hopes up about the roof deck. The roof deck is just an asphalt roof that is not fit to walk on. From the roof you have a nice view of a huge tree in my backyard; so much for seeing fireworks. But with the right plants, and some railings for those evenings you have a couple too many beers with your friends, it could be a cool chill-out space.

Still, in today's market, these units are reasonably priced. The common charges are almost too good to be true. I’d definitely negotiate them down on the asking price of the condo, because there are a few things that will need work.

In general, I thought the rehab was a bit shoddy and they really didn't put too much money into the bathroom or kitchen materials. There was another downside too--the duplexes have one bathroom. Anyway, I'm sure that to someone looking to buy the pros will outweigh the cons. The building is in a great location--just a block and a half from the 2 and 5 trains, and two blocks from Prospect Park and the Botanical Gardens.

Related articles:
1) Condo Conversion on Rogers Ave.
2) Corcoran's listing for 411 Rogers Ave.

Repair Rather Than Replace

In an article called Little Ways to Save Big on a Remodel, This Old House Magazine writer Alexandra Bandon gave 10 tips to save money on a remodel. These are the 10 principles I've been guided by during my 5 years of DIY renovations. One can save thousands of dollars if these tips are followed safely. Read more-->

1. Repair Rather Than Replace
2. Roll Up Your Sleeves
3. Limit Demolition
4. Rob Peter to Pay Paul
5. Use Luxuries Selectively
6. Adjust To Your Circumstances
7. Add Detail With Paint
8. Stick With Stock
9. Be Open To Open Shelves And Doors
10. Reuse Existing Materials

PLG Bathroom: Part II

Since we were already doing work in our bathroom in Prospect-Lefferts Garden, we decided to change the tiles, sink, showerhead and add a new vanity.

1.) 5 Durock 5/16 3x5 Cement Board: $10.77 each
Tiles: $100
2.) AquaSource White Windsor Pedestal Lavatory: $87.73
3.) AquaSource White Windsor Pedestal Base: $46.02
4.) Showerhead: $16.98
5.) Vanity: $99

PLG Bathroom: The Work Never Ends

Three years ago I put a window in this cramped Prospect-Lefferts Garden bathroom. The bathroom had an ugly grey vent, with open storage space below. The vent was replaced with a small window; I kept the storage space, but added mirrored sliding doors.

Originally, in that space, there was a window about 45" X 32" wide. The original owners must have removed it, to create storage space in a house with only 3 closets on the first floor. After a long discussion about what to do with this storage, we decided to eliminate it and put a window back in that space. A window would allow for better circulation of air and light into the bathroom. We purchased the window from Windows We Are for $160.

Adding the right size mouldings around the window frame is just as important as the window itself. On this frame we used a 4" wide moulding which gives it a classic original look.